Billionaire taps into couples workforce with iron ore ‘love shacks’

They also like being able to wake up and have breakfast in their room and the “better headspace” that comes from a more normal living environment.

MinRes now asks job applicants if they have a partner interested in working in mining as part of its recruitment process.

Whether it is MinRes’ resort-style rooms for couples or the wagyu steaks served up at Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill operations, miners are pulling out all stops amid a prolonged labour and skills shortage.

Mr Ellison is banking on his resorts and a contented workforce boosting productivity by up to 3 million tonnes of iron ore a year. Based on the current iron ore price and the premium MinRes fetches for its product, that represents about $510 million in additional revenue.

Bigger than previous accommodation

MinRes is building a 500-bed mining camp at Ken’s Bore and a 250-bed camp on the WA coast as part of the $3 billion Onslow Iron project in partnership with Chinese steel-making giant Baowu and others. It refers to the two camps as resorts. The wet mess is a lounge serving drinks and barista-made coffee. The dry mess is a bistro with an a la carte menu. There are gyms and Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The apartment-like rooms, known as pods, have 45 square metres of living space which is about three times more than old-style mining camp dongas.

BHP raised the bar for mining camps in 2019 with facilities attached to its $US3.6 billion ($5.33 billion) South Flank iron ore mine that included a three-storey cafe, a cross-fit gym, a 3000-book library, a kitchen just for cooking classes.

However, the mining industry’s plans to become more inclusive and boost female participation suffered a major blow when numerous women came forward in 2021 and to reveal the shocking truth about sexual harassment and assault at mining camps.

Andrea Chapman, MinRes’ executive general manager of people, said building community-style accommodation would help stamp out unacceptable behaviour.

“When you create an environment that attracts more women, and you create an environment that is comfortable for couples, it has to result in less antisocial behaviour because it is more like a community,” she said.

“When people are happy at work, they’re more engaged, they’re more productive, they’re more safe. So the investment that you put into the care of your people comes out multiple fold in all of those other things that are so important.”